Barbara Cooney facts for kids

Barbara Cooney (born August 6, 1917 – died March 10, 2000) was an American writer and artist. She illustrated 110 children's books over 60 years. Her books have been translated into 10 different languages.

Barbara Cooney won two important awards for her work. She received the Caldecott Medal for her illustrations in Chanticleer and the Fox (1958) and Ox-Cart Man (1979). She also won a National Book Award for Miss Rumphius (1982).

In 1994, Barbara Cooney was chosen as the U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. This is a big international award given every two years to creators of children's books. It's one of the highest honors in children's literature.

Barbara Cooney's Life Story

Barbara Cooney was born on August 6, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Russell Schenck Cooney, was a stockbroker, and her mother, Mae Evelyn Bossert, was a painter. Barbara had a twin brother and two younger brothers.

Her family later moved to Connecticut. Barbara started drawing and painting when she was very young. Her mother encouraged her art but let her learn on her own.

Barbara went to Smith College and earned a history degree. But she kept studying art, taking classes in etching and lithography at the Art Students League of New York. She started meeting people in the publishing world. Her first professional illustration was for a book called Ake and His World in 1940.

During World War II, Barbara Cooney served in the Women’s Army Corps. In 1944, she married Guy Murchie, and they had two children, Gretel and Barnaby. They later divorced. In 1949, she married Charles Talbot Porter, and they had two more children, Phoebe and Charlie Porter.

Barbara Cooney continued her illustration work throughout her life. In 1959, she won her first Caldecott Medal for Chanticleer and the Fox. She wrote and illustrated her own version of this old fable, which was first told by Geoffrey Chaucer.

When she was in her 40s, Barbara Cooney started traveling a lot. These trips gave her new ideas for her illustrations and stories. At home, she lived in Damariscotta, Maine, in a house built by one of her sons.

Among her many famous books, Barbara Cooney illustrated Ox-Cart Man (1980), a poem by Donald Hall. This book earned her a second Caldecott Medal. In 1975, she illustrated When the Sky is Like Lace, which was named an "Outstanding Book of the Year" by The New York Times.

Her book Miss Rumphius (1983), which she both wrote and illustrated, won the National Book Award in the Picture Books category.

In 1996, the Governor of Maine, Angus King, honored Barbara Cooney by declaring a day in her name: "Barbara Cooney Day." Her last book, Basket Moon (2000), was published just six months before she passed away at her home in Damariscotta on March 10, 2000.

Some of her original artwork is now shown at Bowdoin College in Maine.

Barbara Cooney's Art Style

Throughout her career, Barbara Cooney used different art techniques. She often used pen and ink, acrylic paints, and pastels. Her drawings are often described as folk art, which is a style that looks simple and traditional.

She often chose to illustrate folk stories. While many of her early books were in black and white, she said her "heart and soul are in color."

Barbara Cooney believed that children should read about important topics like good and evil, love and hate, and life and death. She also felt that children should read books that make them think and learn new things. She always made sure to never "talk down to—or draw down to—children."

Some of her favorite books that she created were Miss Rumphius, Island Boy, and Hattie and the Wild Waves. She felt these books were very close to her own life story.

Books Illustrated by Barbara Cooney

See also

In Spanish: Barbara Cooney para niños